Transcript
Letters
February 16, 2002
BOB GARFIELD: And now your letters and a few updates. A few weeks ago we considered the case of Grigory Pasko, a Russian military journalist. In 1997 he was arrested for allegedly giving a Japanese reporter classified information about Russia's dumping of nuclear waste into the Pacific. In December he was sentenced to 4 years in prison for treason. This week the case against him seemed to fall apart when, among other things, the court ruled that Pasko could not be held liable for violating an unpublished law.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:Last week in interviewed the two directors of the documentary Two Towns of Jasper, and several listeners wondered how they could see the film. Well despite great notices at Sundance, the film has yet to find a distributor. It is scheduled to play at some film festivals across the country and will be broadcast on PBS this fall.
BOB GARFIELD:We got a big response to my talk with linguist and political essayist Noam Chomsky. Many, like Lenore Azaroff of Lowell, Massachusetts, objected to my referring to Chomsky as a "human flame thrower" for calling America a terrorist state. Far from inflaming, she writes, "Dr. Chomsky presents rational, carefully-worded approaches to even the most difficult and controversial topics."
BROOKE GLADSTONE:We caught Chomsky just before he flew to Istanbul where his Turkish publisher stood charged with terrorism for publishing his essays. An update this week, the Boston Globe reports that Chomsky was in the courtroom when the charges were dismissed. The prosecution decided that his description of Turkish efforts to eradicate the Kurds did not, in fact, constitute propaganda against the unity of Turkey.
BOB GARFIELD:On Brooke's interview with CBS producer Wayne Nelson about the impact of working in an office within sight of a continuous live shot of Ground Zero, Dani-Jean Stuart of Londonderry, New Hampshire had this to say: "I often freelance for a cable news operation that has the Ground Zero live shot tuned in. The site, especially at night, lit by huge construction fixtures, seems truly like a vision of a post-apocalyptic world. I watched that shot, unable to look away, in part so that I don't forget the horror but also to seek some visible sense of recovery in the landscape of Ground Zero."
BROOKE GLADSTONE:But many were offended by a phrase I used when I asked the CBS producer if he ever feels he just has to turn the camera off. Amy Allison writes: "Many people like me, believers in Jesus Christ, were insulted. Is taking the Lord's name in vain the only way to express the feelings of frustration you were trying to convey?" I regret any offense I caused. We appreciate your letters. Keep them coming to onthemedia@wnyc.org and please don't forget to tell us where you live and how to pronounce your name. [MUSIC]